APD seeks help in finding Eagle River manThe Anchorage Police Department is seeking the public’s help as it searches for a missing Eagle River man. Stephen Gingrich, 58, was last seen by neighbors nearly two weeks ago and was reported missing by a worried neighbor. The story was first reported by KTUU-TV on Sunday. “Police were unable to locate Mr. Gingrich at his residence, and further attempts to determine his whereabouts have been unsuccessful,” APD s...

School board named top in stateThe Kodiak Island Borough school board was named the best in the state last week by the Association of Alaska School Boards. AASB presented the Kodiak school board with the Outstanding School Board of the Year Award at the organization’s 60th annual conference on Nov. 9 in Anchorage. The award was based on the school board’s work over the last 12 months. “I think it’s a recognition of student achievement in Kodiak...

Warmer than normal weather beats 1986 recordWinter hasn’t hit Kodiak yet. Unusually warm weather took down a 27-year-old record on Thursday when temperatures reached 59 degrees. Measurements taken by the National Weather Service show Kodiak broke the record at 4:36 a.m., said Ray Miller with the National Weather Service in Kodiak. The previous record for Nov. 14 was 54 degrees set in 1986. The National Weather Service said to expect warmer than normal tempe...

Fisherman guilty of violating Lacey ActA Washington man who fishes out of Kodiak was sentenced to five years of probation for four felony violations of the Lacey Act. Fifty-four-year-old Steven Carr, of Anacortes, Wash., was sentenced Nov. 7 in U.S. District Court in Anchorage for his conviction of falsifying records under fish and wildlife laws. The Lacey Act makes it illegal to make false fishing reports. Carr pleaded guilty to the four charges, and ...

Seattle engineers will guide new Tustumena projectThe state of Alaska has picked the guiding hand behind its new Tustumena-class ferry. Naval engineering firm Glosten and Associates of Seattle, Wash. will guide the state as it plans a new oceangoing ferry to replace the 49-year-old M/V Tustumena. The news was announced Wednesday during a meeting of the state’s ferry advisory board in Anchorage. “They're a very big, capable (firm) and they're going to start the pr...

Huge relief effort planned for PhilippinesTyphoon Haiyan was a huge disaster. Kodiak’s Filipino community has big plans to help. This weekend, a series of events will raise money and supplies to send to the islands, which were devastated by Haiyan. The storm made landfall in the eastern Philippines on Friday, and the official death toll has passed 2,300 people. More than 600,000 people have been displaced. Almost one in seven people within the Kodiak Isla...

Borough tries to iron out IBEW contractThe Kodiak Island Borough Assembly will meet in special session tonight to discuss ongoing contract negotiations with IBEW Local 1547. The assembly will meet behind closed doors as the borough attempts to complete a new contract before its existing arrangement expires at the end of the year. The IBEW represents most of the borough’s employees, excluding director-level jobs and the clerk’s office. The last signific...

Old system still viable to catch KTUUKTUU-TV has vanished from GCI cable boxes, but fans of Anchorage’s NBC affiliate can still watch their nightly news courtesy of a vestige of Alaska’s telecommunications past. Each night, the Alaska Rural Communications Service broadcasts KTUU’s news show — and all you need is an antenna. “It’s not a complete solution,” cautions Mike Wall, general manager of Kodiak Public Broadcasting, but for those in Kodiak witho...

Alaska Airlines suing to block SeaTac minimum wage increaseAlaska Airlines is opposing a minimum wage increase at its Seattle hub, but a company spokesman said the company has not planned its response to a proposed Alaska minimum wage hike. Company spokesman Paul McElroy said Alaska Airlines is opposed to SeaTac Proposition 1 because “we do not believe this particular proposition is the right solution.” He added that he was unaware of an Alaska minimum wage ballot measure...